Yesterday was Illustrator, Bruce Degen's birthday. Born June 14, 1945 in Brooklyn, NY, Bruce earned his BFA from Cooper Union and his MFA from Pratt Institute. You may remember his work from the series Magic Schoolbus and unforgettable Ms. Frizzle! My sons were enamored with the books, the videos and the adventures that the "magic" schoolbus would take them on once all the school kids climbed onboard!

All stories/episodes were well written and perfectly executed with a good mix of fun and education. Some of our favorites included the Halloween episode, which taught the viewers about bats and echo location as they toured a haunted mansion on a field trip with kooky Ms. Frizzle wearing her bat earrings and crazy outfits, leading every adventure and driving the bus!

As well as the episode entitled, "For Lunch", where the Schoolbus travels down the throat of a boy and they learn about digestion. Let's not forget the episode, "Lost in Space" ...another great educational adventure! 

Bruce Degen also illustrated the wonderful, lyrical board book, Jamberry, another of our family's favorites.

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The Commander Toad series; Jesse Bear books; Daddy is a Doodlebug and Shirley's Wonderful Baby are all illustrated by Bruce as well. He illustrated over 40 children's books.

Happy Belated Birthday Bruce Degen and thank you for sharing your creativity and talent with the world!